A multidecade study of wild chickadees shows how smart they need to be to survive A mountain chickadee waking up in the Sierra Nevada range on a snowy morning has no time to dawdle. Weighing about as much as a pencil, it needs to find stashed pine nuts within minutesContinue Reading
Researchers have uncovered a hidden split in the venom of Australia’s deadly Eastern Brown Snake. Southern populations create rock-solid blood clots, while northern snakes produce fragile clots that collapse almost instantly — two very different paths to the same deadly outcome. This discovery raises urgent concerns about whether current antivenoms,Continue Reading
What does survival look like for animals who live in the slow lane? Fast animals get plenty of attention for their incredible feats of speed. But what about animals that move at a slower pace? “We definitely are programmed to think that speed is good,” said James Maclaine, senior curatorContinue Reading
The cat family has an amazing array of eye colors stemming from one unusual ancestor. The evolution of eye color in cats has been mapped for the first time, and researchers found that one unusual ancestor is responsible for the feline family’s dazzling variety of peepers — from yellow-eyed tigersContinue Reading
Across the country, pet dogs are falling sick with a flu-like illness, but scientists don’t yet know what’s causing it. Dogs across the U.S. are getting sick with an unexplained respiratory illness. As of Monday (Nov. 27), at least 14 states, including Oregon, New Hampshire, Colorado and Massachusetts, have reportedContinue Reading
First of its kind footage captured for National Geographic’s “Incredible Animal Journeys” shows a barn swallow caught in a sandstorm as part of its migration through the Sahara Desert. Incredible, first-of-its-kind footage reveals a tiny swallow’s battle for survival inside a mammoth sandstorm as it migrates across the Sahara Desert.Continue Reading
Hercules beetles can grow to almost 7 inches long and are among the largest flying insects on Earth. Hercules beetles are among the largest flying insects in the world, with males of some subspecies measuring up to 6.8 inches (17.2 centimeters) long. They are also extraordinarily strong and can liftContinue Reading
Within three years, the soil grew richer and supported more plants When glaciers melt, they leave behind barren landscapes that can take decades to support plants and animals. But a new study found that within just three years, such exposed land was revitalized by llamas, whose activity nourished the soilContinue Reading
The unusual skeleton of a holy woman buried in a crouched position in medieval times has been identified. The skeletal remains of a medieval anchoress — essentially a religious hermit — buried in an unusual, crouched position at a church site in England died with syphilis and arthritis, archaeologists discovered.Continue Reading
A great white shark recently decapitated a Mexican fisher as he was diving for shellfish. But what was the reason for the unusually gruesome attack? A fisher was recently decapitated by a 19-foot-long (5.8 meters) great white shark while diving for ax tripe, a scallop-like mollusk in Mexico. The tragicContinue Reading